MY BOOK of BIRDS GERALDO VALÉRIO GROUNDWOOD BOOKS HOUSE OF ANANSI PRESS TORONTO BERKELEY
INTRODUCTION Growing up in Brazil I spent a lot of time playing with my friends along the shore of the river that ran close to my house I saw families of white egrets and noisy parakeets I watched wild Muscovy Ducks swimming with their little chicks Up above me I would see Black Vultures and flocks of swallows that looked like moving clouds I love the variety of birds their colored feathers and their sense of freedom When I moved to Canada I discovered many birds new to me For the first time I saw cormorants sand pipers gulls jays and warblers Herons too 4
I have always been fascinated by books about birds including the wondrous pictures of John James Audubon For years now I have been making collages of birds using old magazine paper Collage allows me to capture the sense of aliveness and joy I feel when I look at birds The image is a door that leads me to discover and learn My Book of Birds is my album of artistic impressions of North American birds Learning about these birds makes me happy and I hope My Book of Birds will make you happy too 5
